IN THE SHADOWS – BY ILLAN

In what has to be his most accomplished shoot to date, Illan’s latest work titled “In The Shadows” shows us his interpretations on the theme through 2 sets of incredible images.

The Exclu Collective always has the most interesting themes and challenges for any toy photographer to work on. I have enjoyed working on every assignment they’ve given me, however this one was my favorite.

At first for In The Shadows, I thought about using stealth based characters but I realised I have no stealth type toys. Oops. So I had to get creative. I decided to take the theme as literal as possible, and do every shot as in black and white all shot at the same location.

Star Wars – Black and White

The Scarif Trooper has become one of my favorite figures to shoot with. It easily makes the Top 5. Scarif Troopers were mostly wasted in Rogue One and were really just added for marketing purposes. But they still remain as a favorite of mine. A staple of the Scarif Commander’s design is his orange and blue stripes painted on his shoulder pads and chest. It’s how you can tell he’s a commander in the first place. But for this shot I decided to remove that and yet he STILL looks like he’s an important soldier. That’s what makes the Commander so great.

Tusken Raiders are one of the ugliest creatures in Star Wars. They’re often depicted as the savages of Tatooine. And I really enjoy that whole concept. For this shot I decided to remove the Raider from his usual environment of the desert and make him look like even more of a savage. Tusken’s are not good people at all. But they are just trying to survive the harsh circumstances of Tatooine. I believe I captured that within this shot by slightly tilting his head to the side. He looks almost curious, but he’s still threatening as no matter what he is a Tusken Raider. The Savage of Tatooine.

Jango is another one of my favorite figures that I own. His paint job and armour tops even the expensive S.H. Figuarts Jango. He’s done so well, that when you remove his signature blue colour his greatly done weathered armour can carry the quality of this picture. I do wish he had more articulation but oh well. Sacrifices must be made.

Marvel Legends – Black and White

The Punisher is one of the greatest anti-heroes of all time. We’ve grown accustomed to his aesthetics and style. We all know that he is born from tragedy and we sympathise with his reasoning for killing. That is everything I wanted to portray within this shot of the legendary Punisher.

Spoilers for the Old Man Logan comic below

Wolverine is one of the most recognisable heroes in the world. I’d say he’s up there with Spider-Man and Captain America. No matter what he looks like, as long as he has those claws, you’ll know who he is. Wolverine is of course a favorite of mine, but I prefer him when the title of Wolverine is stripped away and he becomes Old Man Logan. Wolverine is by no means weak, yet Logan is. An older and beaten down hero who is weighed down by what he’s done fascinates me. Logan has been a weapon for a majority of his life who was forced to kill any threat he was told to.

But in the Old Man Logan comics, he is manipulated by Mysterio to kill ALL of the X-Men. The last thing in the world that made him feel human. Ever since that incident he finally feels remorse. All of those things I just said is what I want to show in every shot I take of Old Man Logan.

A huge thank you to Illan for taking the time to work on such an accomplished shoot so be sure to check out more of his work over on Instagram @the_uncanny_photographer and for more of the latest exclusive shoots stay tuned to Exclu

Exclu – We are an international Toy Magazine and supporting platforms featuring the latest toy news, reviews, previews, community showcases & industry insights. Thank you for checking us out and we hope you stick around!

Tweets

Amazon Affiliates Program

Exclu Media Ltd is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Exclu Media is not responsible for your service on any other platform once you leave our website through any affiliate links but we always ensure that links are accurate at the time of implementation. As an Amazon Associate, Exclu Media Ltd earn from qualifying purchases.